episode_0113

After Eugene disappeared, Arjen felt like every day was like hell. Even when I opened my eyes in the morning, I had no idea that living in a world without Eugene by my side would be so lonely and empty.

No, to be precise, it is impossible to know, but it would be correct to say that I have not even dared to think about it. No one lives worrying about the coming of a world without air. Eugene meant that much to Arjen.

If this were normal, the sane ones among Arjen’s personalities would have gathered their strength and comforted Arjen. The problem is that the aftermath of Eugene’s disappearance was the same regardless of personality.

Arjen denied, Luv prayed, Kaela searched for answers that did not exist, and Rose cried. Viola manifested all the stress that arose from that incident and released it into the world.

Then, the land of death was born. It did not take long for the beautiful, lush nature to become ruins.

Her brilliant achievement of saving Eletrobe from a meteorite has long since faded. Her destructive activities have already devastated the surrounding area beyond what a meteorite can accomplish.

As the situation reached the level of a natural disaster, humanity naturally went into chaos. This is because every time Viola turns the area around Lare into a monotonous landscape, it is a direct blow to humans.

It is safe to say that the area around Eletrobe is humanity’s food warehouse and the lifeline of the continent. 28% of the food consumed annually by humans comes from here. This was not limited to Berfia and did not discriminate against race or origin. It would be surprising if there wasn’t an uproar since such a place is now being reclaimed from ruins.

“We must subdue Arjen!”

“That’s no longer the savior, he’s just a mad dragon even crazier than before!”

“What is the use of conversation and what is the use of tribute when you are destroying your own residence and the surrounding land!?”

The opinions of humans were unanimous. It’s about defeating Arzen. Of course, everyone had to concentrate their efforts. Regardless of nationality, the outstanding adventurers, mercenaries, and knights gathered from all over the world were capable of subduing any monster they faced.

“Eugene?”

As soon as she felt the presence of a human approaching her lair, Viola disappeared at once and Arjen appeared. However, the human army that cruelly trampled on her expectations had to deal with Viola’s reappearance.

The power of Viola, which made even Akasha grasp the subject in just two shots, far exceeded the power of the dragon that humanity had assumed, and a new mountain of corpses was created in the empty ruins.

“The warrior’s strength is needed.”

“That’s right. If you are a hero, you might be able to kill that monster.”

Although many people died, there was still a strong bond left in humanity. Warrior. A decisive battle weapon for the human race that Stella favors. No matter what crisis has occurred in human history, the word ‘warrior’ has taken away all anxiety and worry.

“Hero!”

As everyone hoped, Wayne, the hero of the time, retrieved the holy sword hidden by Akasha and headed to Arzen’s Lair. At that time, humanity firmly believed that warriors would bring peace as always.

But humanity’s expectations were betrayed. The warrior did not subdue Arzen. He passed Arjen, who was standing blankly in front of the lair as if waiting for someone, and entered the lair and disappeared.

Everyone was astonished. This was not only the reason why Arjen left the hero alone, but also because the hero’s behavior of ignoring and passing by Arjen, who had clearly become a disaster for humanity, was shocking.

Wayne, who was given the title of the first renegade warrior in human history, occasionally came out and stopped the humans heading towards Arjen.

Because she stood in their way with an unchanging appearance even after ten or a hundred years, it got to the point where she was no longer treated as a human being by humans. Some people expressed the opinion that Wayne was doing this to prevent them from being killed by Arjen anymore, but this was dismissed as the opinion that if that was the case, it would be right to subdue Arjen directly.

The original disaster was compounded by the hero’s betrayal, but the humans did not give up. This was because it was thought that only by somehow subduing Arzen and reviving the land of Eletrobe would humanity be able to recover to its former state.

It’s not prosperity. Recovery as before. The prosperity of humanity was already at a standstill as food supplies drastically decreased and countless numbers of people died from Arzen.

Even Wayne did not have the talent to organize a large army and block all the invading humans, so they were able to reach Arjen.

“Eugene? You’re here?”

“Die, Arzen!”

The earth was stained with blood and time passed. Arjen no longer remembered how warm Eugene was.

“Eujin…? Is it you this time?”

“The evil deeds end here, Arzen! Our adventurer party…!”

The torn pieces of flesh stained the ground and more time passed. Arjen no longer remembered how captivating Eugene’s scent was.

“Eujin… Please tell me you’re right….”

“Arzen, please stop your violent actions and return to your original form…!”

Five more bodies were added and time passed again. Arjen slowly realized that the passage of time like this was very painful for him.

No matter how long I wait, it doesn’t come.

No matter how much I pray, it won’t come.

No matter how much I think about it, it won’t come.

No matter how much I cry, he won’t come.

No matter how much he denied it, the reality of Eugene’s absence continued to torment him for over 300 years.

“Haha… Ha….”

I left my body to Viola and continued to live a life of endless despair in the world of images. Rube’s prayers had already stopped, and Kaela was unable to find an answer.

Rose’s tears dried, and Arjen realized the reality.

The human lifespan is about 100 years at most. The fact that over 300 years have already passed, he will never be able to reunite with Eugene.

“Haha… It’s over. It’s over.”

The fact that Eugene, who had once been his sweet dream, had not yet returned made Arjen even have cruel imaginations.

‘Actually, maybe he could have come back but he didn’t?’

Eugene is from another world. Although he came here and met himself, all of his foundations of life until now existed in the world he lived in.

His family, friends, home, even the smallest things are all there. I was the only one here.

I came to think that it was natural that Eugene’s weight would tilt in that direction.

‘Yes… it was something like that…’

Akasha is the enemy of the Buddha who took away her mother, father, and older sister. He was right. The person who will love you will never appear.

The reason she didn’t go and kill the man who took Eugene away from her right now was because there was no way to find him, but it was also because of the lingering regret that had clung to her heart.

If Eugene comes back, even if just by chance, I want to run right away and be held in his arms.

Just for that moment, Arjen suddenly sat down outside the lair for 360 years.

“……Ah.”

Viola, who was sitting quietly, was caught in the mood. The surrounding area had already become a land of death with nothing in it for a long time, and it was a quiet land without any sound, so it was not a problem to sense it even if someone approached.

“Human….”

I knew that the approaching creature was a human based on information such as approaching speed, stride interval, and breathing sounds. Humans have been the race that visited Lair the most over the past 360 years. Because of this, they are the species that has been killed the most.

They were also of the same race as him. Therefore, ironically, they were the last race to die.

This is because a handful of lingering feelings, like the dregs of emotion that are no longer embarrassing to be called a mere thread, made her feel hopeful with a ‘just in case’ mind.

Sniff!

Suddenly, Viola’s nose became greedy for the smell. Just before the mind understood, the body first reacted to the smell it had been craving.

Exciting!

As the information about the smell passed through his nose and penetrated his brain, it awakened Arjen’s consciousness, which had been sleeping in the world of images.

‘Ahhh…!’

I thought I had forgotten, but I hadn’t completely forgotten. After smelling it again, I was able to know for sure.

The dried tears burst out automatically. Still, I kept my head down, thinking that it might still be an illusion. The human whose existence she had already detected stood straight in front of her.

“…I’ve been there.”

And the human greeted Arjen, who had forgotten the warmth and smell, with a warm voice that he remembered.

Her hair turned silver. Arjen burst out of the world of images.

“Huh… Ahhh…!”

As if he had forgotten the language, Arjen slowly raised his head in a sad tone.

There was the face of a loved one that I could never forget.

“Sorry I’m late, Arzen.”

Arjen’s heart started beating again.